by Krystina Gillenwater | Updated Nov 4, 2021
Look, I’m going to give it to you straight - I have no idea what’s going on.
We’re all operating in the midst of an unprecedented event. We don’t have research, data, or historic reference points we can draw on to help us make informed decisions over the next 5 days, 5 weeks, or 5 months.
With that, I can’t tell you exactly what you should do with your go-to-market strategy. Any Marketing or Sales expert out here peddling certainty and magic solutions right now needs to be reality checked on the spot.
That being said, I am reasonably confident in (2) things. First and foremost...
...this too shall pass.
Eventually, we’ll see the end of quarantines and social distancing (to the dismay of introverts like myself). We’ll see bars and restaurants re-open. We’ll see the economy rebound, and we’ll see the world go back to, “business as usual.”
Second, I am reasonably certain that until the day comes when this crisis is past us, your business can not afford for you to hem and haw your way through. You can't sit on the sidelines, hope that you maintain your full book of business and that new leads magically rain down upon you.
Unless your business is a subscription-based streaming service like Netflix, capitalizing on unprecedented levels of people being bored, or a behemoth like Amazon, capitalizing on the bulk buying movement to the extent that they have to hire 100,000 new employees to keep up with online order demand…
You can’t afford to stop marketing and selling!
Payroll is stacking up, clients are going to start slow-paying, if not outright canceling and you’ve likely got a family to take care of.
Ask yourself (2) important questions:
- Is your business going to survive if you don’t generate new revenue?
- Do you think you have something of value to offer your marketplace right now?
If yes, your answers here may have just made a pretty good case for a dedicated (if not accelerated) go-to-market strategy during COVID-19.
But, the way in which you go-to-market might have to change.
You’re going to have to adapt.
Now more than ever, you’re going to have to lead with empathy. I’m talking about excessive amounts of up-front value! You’re going to have to obsess over building heart-centered campaigns - the sole function of which is to help people.
Know the expression, “always be selling”? Yeah, that’s over and done with. It’s all about, “always be helping” right now.
It won’t be easy. Generating new leads (even with a heart-centered approach) is going to be a challenge. You’re going to have to buckle in for complex messaging and positioning challenges, longer sales cycles, timid buyers, and a preponderance of objections.
Adaptation of any kind starts with introspection. You need to examine your current go-to-market strategy and ask yourself whether you’re leveraging the right messaging, the right offers, whether you’re engaging the right buyers, and much much more.
I've put together a bunch of questions with Digitopia’s 5 core go-to-market philosophies in mind that will help you conduct a deep examination of your business right now and enable you to build the foundation of a relationship-based, value-driven go-to-market approach.
Download a free copy of our: Go-To-Market Audit During COVID-19
The audit should take you 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete. Time well spent during this crisis if you ask me. The future of your business may very well depend on the actions you take today!
Once you've successfully completed the audit, pat yourself on the back and celebrate. That's a huge win! 👏👏
If you’re looking for extra inspiration, resources, or community to support you right now, here’s just some of what Digitopia is offering.
Virtual “Office Hours”
Our team of digital marketing and virtual selling experts are making themselves available to hold open office hours for anyone that wants to ask questions, talk strategy, and collaborate.
